The Nineteenth Dynasty of Egypt (notated Dynasty XIX), also known as the Ramessid dynasty, is classified as the second Dynasty of the

Ancient Egypt Ancient Egypt () was a cradle of civilization concentrated along the lower reaches of the Nile River in Northeast Africa. It emerged from prehistoric Egypt around 3150BC (according to conventional Egyptian chronology), when Upper and Lower E ...

ian New Kingdom period, lasting from 1292 BC to 1189 BC. The 19th Dynasty and the 20th Dynasty furthermore together constitute an era known as the ''Ramesside period''. This Dynasty was founded by

Vizier A vizier (; ; ) is a high-ranking political advisor or Minister (government), minister in the Near East. The Abbasids, Abbasid caliphs gave the title ''wazir'' to a minister formerly called ''katib'' (secretary), who was at first merely a help ...

Ramesses I Menpehtyre Ramesses I (or Ramses) was the founding pharaoh of ancient Egypt's Nineteenth Dynasty of Egypt, 19th Dynasty. The dates for his short reign are not completely known but the timeline of late 1290s BC, 1292–1290 BC is frequently cited ...

, whom

Pharaoh Pharaoh (, ; Egyptian language, Egyptian: ''wikt:pr ꜥꜣ, pr ꜥꜣ''; Meroitic language, Meroitic: 𐦲𐦤𐦧, ; Biblical Hebrew: ''Parʿō'') was the title of the monarch of ancient Egypt from the First Dynasty of Egypt, First Dynasty ( ...

Horemheb Horemheb, also spelled Horemhab, Haremheb or Haremhab (, meaning "Horus is in Jubilation"), was the last pharaoh of the Eighteenth Dynasty of Egypt, 18th Dynasty of Egypt (1550–1292 BC). He ruled for at least 14 years between 1319 ...

chose as his successor to the throne.

History

Background

The warrior kings of the early

18th Dynasty The Eighteenth Dynasty of Egypt (notated Dynasty XVIII, alternatively 18th Dynasty or Dynasty 18) is classified as the first dynasty of the New Kingdom of Egypt, the era in which ancient Egypt achieved the peak of its power. The Eighteenth Dynasty ...

had encountered only little resistance from neighbouring kingdoms, allowing them to expand their realm of influence easily, but the international situation had changed radically towards the end of the dynasty. The

Hittites The Hittites () were an Anatolian peoples, Anatolian Proto-Indo-Europeans, Indo-European people who formed one of the first major civilizations of the Bronze Age in West Asia. Possibly originating from beyond the Black Sea, they settled in mo ...

had gradually extended their influence into Syria and

Canaan CanaanThe current scholarly edition of the Septuagint, Greek Old Testament spells the word without any accents, cf. Septuaginta : id est Vetus Testamentum graece iuxta LXX interprets. 2. ed. / recogn. et emendavit Robert Hanhart. Stuttgart : D ...

to become a major power in international politics, a power that both

Seti I Menmaatre Seti I (or Sethos I in Greek language, Greek) was the second pharaoh of the Nineteenth Dynasty of Egypt during the New Kingdom of Egypt, New Kingdom period, ruling or 1290 BC to 1279 BC. He was the son of Ramesses I and Sitre, and th ...

and his son

Ramesses II Ramesses II (sometimes written Ramses or Rameses) (; , , ; ), commonly known as Ramesses the Great, was an Pharaoh, Egyptian pharaoh. He was the third ruler of the Nineteenth Dynasty of Egypt, Nineteenth Dynasty. Along with Thutmose III of th ...

would confront in the future.

19th Dynasty

Seti I and Ramesses II

The New Kingdom of Egypt reached the zenith of its power under Seti I and Ramesses II ("The Great"), who campaigned vigorously against the

Libyans Demographics of Libya is the demography of Libya, specifically covering population density, Ethnic group, ethnicity, and Religion in Libya, religious affiliations, as well as other aspects of the Libyan population. All figures are from the Uni ...

and the Hittites. The city of Kadesh was first captured by Seti I, who decided to concede it to Muwatalli of Hatti in an informal peace treaty between Egypt and Hatti. Ramesses II later attempted unsuccessfully to alter this situation in his fifth regnal year by launching an attack on Kadesh in his Second Syrian campaign in

1274 BC The 1270s BC was a decade which lasted from 1279 BC to 1270 BC. {{Decadebox BC, 127 Events and trends * 1279 BC—Pharaoh Seti I dies after an 11-year reign. *c. 1279 BC— Troy VI, speculated to be the city mentioned in Homer's Iliad, is pres ...

; he was caught in history's first recorded military ambush, but thanks to the arrival of the Ne'arin (a force allied with Egypt), Ramesses was able to rally his troops and turn the tide of battle against the Hittites. Ramesses II later profited from the Hittites' internal difficulties, during his eighth and ninth regnal years, when he campaigned against their Syrian possessions, capturing Kadesh and portions of Southern Syria, and advancing as far north as

Tunip Tunip (probably modern Tell 'Acharneh) was a city-state along the Orontes River in western Syria in the Late Bronze Age. It was large enough to be an urban center, but too small to be a dominant regional power. It was under the influence of var ...

, where no Egyptian soldier had been seen for 120 years. He ultimately accepted that a campaign against the Hittites was an unsupportable drain on Egypt's treasury and military. In his 21st regnal year, Ramesses signed the earliest recorded peace treaty with Urhi-Teshub's successor,

Hattusili III Ḫattušili (''Ḫattušiliš'' in the inflected nominative case) was the regnal name of three Hittite kings: * Hattusili I (Labarna II) * Hattusili II * Hattusili III It was also the name of two Neo-Hittite kings: * Hattusili I (Kummuh) * Hattus ...

, and with that act Egypt-Hittite relations improved significantly. Ramesses II even married two Hittite princesses, the first after his second

Sed Festival The Sed festival (''ḥb-sd'', Egyptian language#Egyptological pronunciation, conventional pronunciation ; also known as Heb Sed or Feast of the Tail) was an ancient Egyptian ceremony that celebrated the continued rule of a pharaoh. The name is ...

Merneptah and successors

This dynasty declined as infighting for the throne between the heirs of

Merneptah Merneptah () or Merenptah (reigned July or August 1213–2 May 1203 BCE) was the fourth pharaoh of the Nineteenth Dynasty of Egypt, Nineteenth Dynasty of Ancient Egypt. According to contemporary historical records, he ruled Egypt for almost ten y ...

increased.

Amenmesse Amenmesse (also Amenmesses or Amenmeses) was the fifth pharaoh of the Nineteenth dynasty of Egypt, Nineteenth Dynasty in Ancient Egypt, possibly the son of Merneptah and Queen Takhat. Others consider him to be one of the innumerable sons of Rame ...

apparently usurped the throne from Merneptah's son and successor,

Seti II Seti II (or Sethos II) was the fifth pharaoh of the Nineteenth Dynasty of Egypt and reigned from 1203 BC to 1197 BC. His throne name, Userkheperure Setepenre, means "Powerful are the manifestations of Ra, Re, the chosen one of Re. ...

, but he ruled Egypt for only four years. After his death, Seti regained power and destroyed most of Amenmesse's monuments. Seti was served at court by

Chancellor Bay Bay, also called Ramesse Khamenteru (died 1192 BC), was an important Asiatic official in ancient Egypt, who rose to prominence and high office under Seti II Userkheperure Setepenre and later became an influential powerbroker in the closing stages ...

, who was originally just a 'royal scribe' but quickly became one of the most powerful men in Egypt, gaining the unprecedented privilege of constructing his own tomb in the

Valley of the Kings The Valley of the Kings, also known as the Valley of the Gates of the Kings, is an area in Egypt where, for a period of nearly 500 years from the Eighteenth Dynasty to the Twentieth Dynasty, rock-cut tombs were excavated for pharaohs and power ...

(

KV13 Tomb KV13, located in the Valley of the Kings in Egypt, was cut and decorated for the burial of the noble Chancellor Bay, Bay of the Nineteenth dynasty of Egypt, Nineteenth Dynasty. An ostraca published in the French Egyptological journal BIFAO i ...

). Both Bay and Seti's chief wife,

Twosret Tausret, also spelled ''Tawosret'' or ''Twosret'' (d. 1189 BCE) was the last known ruler and the final pharaoh of the Nineteenth Dynasty of Egypt. She is recorded in Manetho's ''Epitome'' as "Thuoris, who in Homer is called Polybus, husband of A ...

, had a sinister reputation in Ancient Egyptian folklore. After

Siptah Akhenre Setepenre Siptah or Merneptah Siptah was the penultimate ruler of the Nineteenth Dynasty of Egypt. His father's identity is currently unknown. Both Seti II and Amenmesse have been suggested although the fact that Siptah later changed hi ...

's death, Twosret ruled Egypt for two more years, but she proved unable to maintain her hold on power amid the conspiracies and powerplays being hatched at the royal court. She was likely ousted in a revolt led by Setnakhte, founder of the 20th Dynasty.

Pharaohs of the 19th Dynasty

The

pharaoh Pharaoh (, ; Egyptian language, Egyptian: ''wikt:pr ꜥꜣ, pr ꜥꜣ''; Meroitic language, Meroitic: 𐦲𐦤𐦧, ; Biblical Hebrew: ''Parʿō'') was the title of the monarch of ancient Egypt from the First Dynasty of Egypt, First Dynasty ( ...

s of the 19th Dynasty ruled for approximately 110 years: from to 1187 BC. Many of the pharaohs were buried in the Valley of the Kings in Thebes (designated KV). More information can be found on the Theban Mapping Project website.

Timeline of the 19th Dynasty

ImageSize = width:800 height:auto barincrement:12 PlotArea = top:100 bottom:100 right:100 left:100 AlignBars = early DateFormat = yyyy Period = from:-1292 till:-1170 TimeAxis = orientation:horizontal ScaleMajor = unit:year increment:10 start:-1292 Colors = id:canvas value:rgb(0.97,0.97,0.97) id:PA value:green id:GP value:red Backgroundcolors = canvas:canvas BarData = barset:Rulers PlotData= width:5 align:left fontsize:S shift:(5,-4) anchor:till barset:Rulers from: -1292 till: -1290 color:PA text:"

( 1292 BC – 1290 BC)" from: -1290 till: -1279 color:PA text:"

( 1290 BC – 1279 BC)" from: -1279 till: -1213 color:PA text:"

( 1279 BC – 1213 BC)" from: -1213 till: -1203 color:PA text:"

( 1213 BC – 1203 BC)" from: -1203 till: -1199 color:PA text:"

( 1203 BC – 1199 BC)" from: -1203 till: -1197 color:PA text:"

( 1203 BC –

1197 BC The 1190s BC is a List of decades, decade which lasted from 1199 BC to 1190 BC. Events and trends * 1197 BC—The beginning of the first period (1197 BC–982 BC) according to Shao Yong's concept of the I Ching and history. * 1194 BC—The beginn ...

)" from: -1197 till: -1191 color:PA text:"

(

–

1191 BC The 1190s BC is a decade which lasted from 1199 BC to 1190 BC. Events and trends * 1197 BC—The beginning of the first period (1197 BC– 982 BC) according to Shao Yong's concept of the I Ching and history. * 1194 BC—The beginning of the leg ...

)" from: -1191 till: -1189 color:PA text:"

(

– 1189 BC)" barset:skip

Gallery of images

File:Sethos I 01.jpg, Seti I File:Abu Simbel 008.jpg, Ramesses II File:Twosret.jpg, Twosret File:Shabti of Siptah MET DP109391.jpg, Shabti of Siptah File:BayIrsu.jpg, Chancellor Bay File:Turin statue of Seti II.jpg, Seti II

References

{{Authority control States and territories established in the 13th century BC States and territories disestablished in the 12th century BC 19 New Kingdom of Egypt 13th century BC in Egypt 12th century BC in Egypt 13th-century BC establishments in Egypt 12th-century BC disestablishments in Egypt 19